The soldiers set to work digging earthworks on Mason's and Munson's Hills. The heights swept the plains around Bailey's Crossroads, where the Leesburg & Alexandria Turnpike met the Colombia Turnpike.** As long as the Confederate forces were dug in atop these two hills, the Union Army dare not occupy territory closer to Falls Church and Annandale.
A view of Mason's Hill and Munson's Hill from an 1862 Union Army map, showing their proximity to Falls Church and Bailey's Crossroads (courtesy of Library of Congress). Washington sits to the northeast (upper right of the map), about nine miles away. The Leesburg & Alexandria Turnpike runs past Munson's Hill to Falls Church and beyond. At the time this map was drawn, the Union was in control of this area and had erected forts, which are shown here. Today, historical markers are located near the site of the Confederate positions on Mason's and Munson's Hills (see here and here). |
The Confederates, taking full advantage of their position on the high ground, erected signal stations on Mason's and Munson's Hills. Officers from General Wade Hampton's Legion sent messages at night from across the Potomac to Munson's Hill. The Confederates also hatched a clever scheme to relay messages to Munson's Hill from Washington. An ex-Maryland legislator, E. Pliny Bryan, was sent to rent a room in Washington from which Munson's Hill could be seen. As described by E.P. Alexander, who at the time was active in Confederate intelligence gathering and signal work:
[Bryan] was to take the bearing of the hill by compass from his window, and communicate it to us by an agreed-upon advertisement in a daily paper, which we received regularly. This would give us the bearing on which to turn our powerful telescope, loaned for the purpose by a Charleston gentleman, and in position on Munson's Hill. Then we would identify his window by finding a coffee-pot in it, and by motions of the coffee-pot, and opening and shutting the blinds, etc., he would send his messages, and we would reply, if necessary, by a large flag and by firing guns. (Cummins 93.)The plan was on the verge of being executed in September 1861, when the Confederates abandoned their advanced positions.
Looking at the Confederate earthworks on Munson's Hill down the Leesburg & Alexandria Turnpike from Bailey's Crossroads, September 1861 (courtesy of Virginia Historical Society). The Confederate flag atop Munson's Hill was seen from as far away as Washington. This sketch was drawn by Union soldier Robert Knox Sneden. |
Historical marker in front of Home Hill, recalling Longstreet's stay at the property. |
With the armies so close to one another, and tensions running high, fighting was bound to erupt in the no-man's land between the lines. In the next installment, I examine the skirmishing that took place around Munson's Hill and Bailey's Crossroads at the end of August and start of September 1861.
Notes
*According to an August 29, 1861 letter from Longstreet's aid, Tom Goree, to his uncle and sister, this advance likely took place around August 27.
**Bailey's Crossroads was spelled "Bailey's Cross Roads" at the time of the Civil War.
Sources
Edmund H. Cummins, "The Signal Corps in the Confederate States Army," Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XVI, at 93 (1888).
Thomas W. Cutrer, Longstreet's Aide: The Civil War Letters of Thomas J. Goree (1995).
Jubal Anderson Early & R.H. Early (ed.), Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States (1912).
Bradley E. Gernand, A Virginia Village Goes to War: Falls Church During the Civil War (2002).
Frederick Stansbury Haydon, Military Ballooning During the Early Civil War (1941).
James Longstreet, From Manassas to Appomattox (1896).
Charles P. Poland, Jr., The Glories of War: Small Battles and Early Heroes of 1861 (2004).
"Special Dispatch from Washington," dated Aug. 31, 1861, New York Times, Sept. 1, 1861 edition.
Lee A. Wallace, Jr., 17th Virginia Infantry, from the Virginia Regimental History Series (1990).
Edgar Warfield, Manassas to Appomattox: The Civil War Memoirs of Pvt. Edgar Warfield, 17th Virginia Infantry (1996 ed.).
Jeffry D. Wert, General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Solider (1994).
2 comments:
Great information...I was wondering why my High school was named after JEB Stuart. The school is located on the side of Munson's Hill.
That makes perfect sense! Glad I could assist!
Ron
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